Problems of wheel and rail wear caused by friction generated particularly from contact of the flanges with the rails on curves and the tendency of the wheels of rail car vehicles to hunt on tangent track, whereby the flanges of the car wheels alternately bear against one rail and then the other as the car travels along the track have been recognized for many years. Over a century or more, a large number of solutions have been proposed, some of which have been put into use. These have ranged from stationary track lubricators for directly applying lubricant to the rails at selected locations to reservoirs of a liquid lubricant mounted on the rail vehicle for application of liquid lubricant directly on the vehicle wheels. More recent lubrication devices, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,915,195 and 5,085,292, apply oil or other lubricant by use of lubricant-containing porous polymeric members mounted for engagement with the flanges of the wheels of rail cars. Despite the teachings of a large body of prior art of which the above is exemplary, the need still exists for a simple, inexpensive, disposable device capable of use for at least the duration of standard car maintenance cycles including the rather long intervals for inspection and maintenance of cars in extended or long haul service.